Danny Schmidt (Director & Producer), Clay Barron (Producer), Hayley Nenadal (Producer), George McKenzie Jr (Producer) | 2025 | 15 min.
2026 Official Selection
From Brooklyn’s concrete jungle to the heart of the Everglades, meet George McKenzie Jr., a Black photographer transforming his lens into a beacon of change. Swapping the weight of a gun for the promise of a camera, George found his calling amid nature’s raw grandeur, capturing everything from city pigeons and rats to elusive panthers. His unique perspective earned him the title of National Geographic Explorer, but his mission runs deeper than recognition.
George, a rare gem in the predominantly white canvas of wildlife photography, is empowering kids of color to shift their gaze to conservation. He’s proof that the color of your skin shouldn’t define the wild dreams you pursue, nor the impact you
aspire to make.
Danny Schmidt is an award-winning director, producer, and cinematographer of non-fiction television, documentaries, and web-content.
He has produced, directed, and photographed documentary films for clients including PBS, National Geographic, Netflix, Disney+, NASA, and many others. He won an Emmy award for cinematography for his DP work on the Disney+ film Path of the Panther and another cinematography Emmy for his recent work on the National Geographic series, America's National Parks. He received his MFA in Documentary Filmmaking in 2012 from Montana State University. He currently lives in Salt Lake City.
